Nepal PM Prachanda wins vote of confidence in Parliament for 3rd time amidst political uncertainty

Prachanda, 69, a former guerilla leader belonging to the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) -- the third largest party in the House of Representatives (HoR) --received 157 votes in the 275-member House of Representatives (HoR)

PTI, Kathmandu, 13.03.24 : Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ on Wednesday secured a vote of confidence in Parliament, as the Himalayan country struggled to maintain political stability due to the frequent shifting of alliances.

Prachanda, 69, a former guerilla leader belonging to the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) -- the third largest party in the House of Representatives (HoR) --received 157 votes in the 275-member lower house.

Altogether 268 MPs were present during the voting. A total of 110 votes were cast against him while one lawmaker abstained from voting. Prachanda needed 138 votes to win the trust vote, his third since assuming charge in December 2022.

“The Prime Minister has won the vote of confidence,” announced Speaker Dev Raj Ghimire, amidst cheers from the ruling coalition members.

The vote comes days after the Maoist leader dumped the Nepali Congress and forged a new alliance with the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist).

According to constitutional provisions, a prime minister has to take a vote of confidence after an ally withdraws support to the ruling coalition. The Nepali Congress is the largest party in the HoR.

Prachanda's new political alliance is with the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) (CPN-UML) led by former prime minister K P Sharma Oli, who was regarded as a top critic of the Maoist leader.

CPN (UML) Chair Oli has said they formed the new alliance as there were problems in the previous ruling alliance. He said the government has been reconstituted as per the wish of the Prime Minister and with their backing since the alliance with the Nepali Congress became inconvenient.

Prachanda became the prime minister for the third term on December 25, 2022.

Last year, Prachanda faced a floor test after the Oli-led CPN-UML withdrew its support to the Prachanda-led government following a rift over backing the main opposition party’s candidate for the presidential poll.

In the first floor test on January 10, 2023, Prachanda received 268 votes. The Prime Minister had to take the floor test for the second time only three months later after he again broke ties with the CPN-UML and forged an alliance with the Nepali Congress in March. He had received 172 votes at the time.

In the 2017 election, Prachanda and Oli merged their parties and secured a comfortable majority. Oli became the prime minister, but their partnership ended halfway following differences between them.

Meanwhile, in an editorial, The Kathmandu Post said, "Overnight political change isn't something new in Nepal. So when Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal broke ties with the Nepali Congress and switched over to the CPN-UML last week, people were hardly surprised." In the past few decades, three big parties — the Nepali Congress, the CPN-UML and the Maoist Centre — have ruled the country turn by turn, forever changing coalitions and partners at their convenience.

"Friends turning foes and vice-versa in the course of accumulating power and perks has become accepted practice across parties," the newspaper noted.

"Given the quick pace of Nepali politics, it will not be long before the UML’s new commitment to helping the country achieve a semblance of political stability and economic growth is put to test," the editorial said.